It was only when reviewing Comedy Of Errors most recent album, the excellent ‘Threnody of a Dead Queen’, that I realised I had missed out on the two prior to that one and given how the four I have heard since the reunion have all been superb I knew I had to rectify that immediately, if not sooner. ‘Time Machine’ was released in 2022, their fifth of recent years, containing five new songs (two of which are more than 12 minutes in length) plus a live recording of “Disobey” from their appearance at RosFest in 2016. I am convinced the only reason these guys are not more well-known or appreciated within the prog world is due to geography, as if they were from London as opposed to Glasgow they would surely be operating in a different stratosphere altogether. They continue to provide superb songs in a polished neo prog style which is quite unlike others, yet never lose sight of the need for guitars when the time is right, although they are quite happy to layer on the keyboards as well. As I write this the band are celebrating their 40th anniversary, and two of the founders are still there in Joe Cairney (vocals) and Jim Johnston (keyboards) while Mark Spalding (guitars) joined not long afterwards.
When the band are concentrating on instrumental passages, such as “The Past of Future Days” one wonders just why they bother with vocals as they can tell a complete musical tale without them, here bringing in some lush acoustic guitar and a feeling of classic Oldfield. However, start at the beginning with the Eighties Neo blast of “The Knight Returns” with crunching guitars and over the top keyboards and it is clear why they use vocals as in Joe they have one of the finest singers around, effortlessly rising above the powering music beneath. This one track is more than worth the price of entry alone, as anyone who loves Classic Neo Prog (yes, it’s a thing) is going to have a massive smile on their face from beginning to end. I know I did, and the harpsichord sampler is wonderfully over the top and just right. I would have been more than happy with just the new songs, but the live take on “Disobey” is wonderful and was obviously their opening cut from the set as we get cheers as band members walk onto the stage during the keyboard introduction. Bear in mind that while many know this as the opening cut of their comeback album it was actually originally recorded all the way back in 1985! Their 3 CD set, ‘Oh! The Innocence - The Early Years’, is well worth tracking down.
Comedy of Errors continue to deliver wonderful music and all their albums are well worthy of investigation. This is wonderfully constructed music from a band who are still delivering the goods and anyone who enjoys Neo Prog with the rough edges smoothed away and polished to a high gloss finish with get a great deal from this.
